People's Democracy

Relief, But Not Much Change 

Nalini Taneja 

WHILE much has changed with the defeat of the BJP in the elections, there is much that remains as before. The Congress-led government is, as expected, more responsive to ruling class interest than to the people’s mandate that brought it to power. But one expected that, by now, it would at least have realised that tailing the BJP is not such a good idea. Yet it seems that what is so obvious to everyone else does not seem to have dawned on the think tanks of the Congress organization. Each one of the ministers has shown reluctance to take any steps that may anger the Hindutva forces. 

VACILLATING ATTITUDE 

Arjun Singh HRD minister decided to outdo the high profile former education minister, Murli Manohar Joshi, in getting prime time sound bytes on TV and front page headlines in leading dailies as soon as his name was announced for the MHRD. But this has not been followed by much action except the creation of some committees and replacement of some names in existing committees. On the matter of immediate and decisive withdrawal of the saffronised NCERT textbooks the government is clearly dithering, and it is actually the BJP which is planning to bring up the issue in parliament to argue its own point of view rather then the Congress which thinks the less it has to take a position on these things the better. The latest statement from the ministry is that it may not be possible to withdraw the textbooks this year as the new session has already begun and students would be inconvenienced, and books are already printed so money would be wasted. But if left and democratic political forces do not insist on an immediate withdrawal, it may not be easy to get them withdrawn later either. The Congress does not seem to have understood that this is not merely a matter of academics, there is the more important need to assert a political position, and for that an immediate and unconditional withdrawal of the saffronised books should be absolutely non-negotiable.
 
The minister of Information and Broadcasting, Jaipal Reddy, is even more reluctant to assert himself. In the name of autonomy, he does not want to interfere with committees and institutions in the field of culture. First his party allowed these institutions to become saffronised and now it wants to give them powers to fulfill their communal agenda under its protection! 

PARIVAR ACTS WITH IMPUNITY

The home minister, of course does not even see what is happening around him. As far as the Bajrang Dal is concerned it is business as usual. It continues its acts with impunity, including the holding of its large training camps which spew venom at the minorities. One such camp was held in Ayodhya last month by Vinay Katiyar, where training was given in using firearms, daggers and knives in order to 'combat terrorists and anti-national elements.' The outfit gave a call to Hindus all over the country not to rest till Ram Mandir is built, and also announced that five lakh youth would be imparted 'trishul diksha' this year “so that they could fight the terrorists in the country”. 

Nikhil Wagle of the eveninger, Mahanagar, has often been attacked by the Shiv Sena. On June 29, 2004, the offices of the newspaper were ransacked and three journalists injured after a report was published in the newspaper about pilgrims on a holy tour who harassed women and sought sex-workers in the city of Pune. This newspaper has consistently taken a stand against the Shiv Sena and BJP politics in the state, and according to press reports, those who raided the premises of the paper said they were doing so because of its "pro-Muslim" stance and "anti-BJP" stories. The BJP leaders have owned to their involvement in the attack. Shockingly, this incident took place in front of police chowki situated right opposite the office. The police did nothing to stop the attackers and arrived only after the damage was done. 

TARGETING MUSLIMS

On July 5, according to a Deccan Herald report (July 6, 2004), hundreds of Bajrang Dal activists indulged in massive vandalism at a private hospital in Indore on Sunday. They smashed the cars parked on the hospital premises and set a couple of two-wheelers afire. They also broke the window panes and glass doors of the hospital, upturned the beds in the various wards and drove out the patients. Some of the 300-odd assailants were carrying country-made pistols, which they used liberally to fire in the air. All this because a young girl working in a PCO on the hospital premises was supposed to have eloped with a boy employed in the hospital canteen. The boy happens to be a Muslim while the girl is a Hindu. The Mayur hospital, which became the target of the ire of the Bajrang Dal workers, is owned by a Mohammedan gentleman. The Bajrang Dal activists alleged that the owner of the hospital had helped one of his Muslim employees to abduct a Hindu girl. Led by its district convener, the Bajrang Dal workers had met the district Superintendent of police on Saturday and had demanded immediate action against Yusuf, the canteen boy. The SP expressed his inability saying that the family members of the girl had not even proffered a missing person complaint. The Bajrang Dal workers angrily stormed out of the SP office promising that “they would do justice themselves”. After the threat, a posse of policemen was deployed at the hospital, however, the assailants, who came in jeeps and motor cycles, easily outnumbered. Reinforcements could reach only after the Bajrangis had run amok for more than half-an-hour. 
 
On July 6, Shiv Sainiks and Bajrang Dal goons attacked the Lahore-bound Sada-e-Sarhad bus at Paghwara in Punjab. Some women passengers were injured. This was on the pretext that some organization had released a CD called Aaj ki Ramayana which, according to them, was disrespectful towards Hindu gods and goddesses. 

In numerous meetings leaders of the VHP and Bajrang Dal have been indulging in hate filled speeches against the Muslims, all of which is nothing new. But there is a new government in place, and it appears that it is in no mood to enforce the Constitution inso far as such speeches and meetings are concerned. 

APPEASING THE RELIGIOUS SENTIMENTS

In various states old decisions continue despite change in government. For example, the Delhi- Haridwar national highway continues to be blocked for all traffic other than the kanwarias for the period of their yatras. This year too this road has remained closed for all traffic to facilitate the kanwarias despite the fact that it causes great hardship to those who want to travel from the Garhwal areas of Uttaranchal to Delhi. Religious yatras have priority over transportation of goods, public transport, agricultural produce, perishable fruits and vegetables and other such things. It is a fit case for PIL, if nothing else, because government seems bent on appeasing the ‘religious sentiments’ of the Sangh Parivar.
 
In Jharkhand cow slaughter has been recently banned. The decision was announced by the ruling coalition led by Bharatiya Janata Party which met in state capital Ranchi and decided to bring an ordinance soon to this effect. How this will affect the adivasi population is of course not a matter of concern for the BJP government there. All these things show that much could continue on the ground as before if those who have newly come to power do not have their ears to the ground. Let us not forget that the Sangh parivar outfits have used the six years of the BJP governance to expand their networks all over the country. The secular forces must remain alert to what these networks are doing because that is where their action will be, and not merely in the corridors of government departments.